UCA News
Contribute

Xu-Ricci institute launched in Shanghai

Updated: May 14, 2010 03:25 AM GMT
Support Asia's largest network of Catholic journalists and editors
Support Asia's largest network of Catholic journalists and editors
Participants at the Fudan University forum in Shanghai
Participants at the Fudan University forum in Shanghai
Share this article :

SHANGHAI, China (UCAN) -- The Fudan University in Shanghai launched its Xu-Ricci Dialogue Institute on May 11, the 400th death anniversary of the pioneering Italian Jesuit missioner to China, Father Matteo Ricci. The institute, which comes under the university’s School of Philosophy, hosted a colloquium that day to commemorate the priest’s contribution to East-West dialogue. The new center is named after Father Ricci and his closest Chinese friend, Paul Xu Guangqi, the first Catholic in Shanghai. According to French Jesuit Father Benoit Vermander, co-director of the institute, it is the first Chinese academic center to bear these two names. The institute aims to promote academic research, the teaching of religious studies, and comparisons between Chinese and Western cultures and philosophies. About 70 Chinese and foreign scholars in the fields of economics, philosophy and religious studies attended the May 11 colloquium, which saw participants discussing religious dialogue and the challenges faced by the Chinese and global communities.

Ricci digital dictionary launched

Many of them also attended the launch of the digital edition of the Grand Ricci, a Chinese-French dictionary, at the Shanghai Museum later in the evening. The dictionary, billed as the largest Chinese-foreign language dictionary in the world, is published by the Taipei Ricci Institute. Father Ricci came to mainland China in 1583 and spent 27 years here until he died in Beijing on May 11, 1610. The Jesuit, known as Li Madou among the Chinese, is widely regarded as the founder of modern-day Christianity in China and a pioneer of East-West cultural exchange. He and Xu, a Catholic scholar and imperial official, collaborated closely to translate Western texts into Chinese, and Confucian classics into Latin. Although Father Ricci did not leave his mark in Shanghai, his Jesuit confrere Father Lazzaro Cattaneo introduced Catholicism here in 1608 at the request of Xu. Shanghai gradually became a major center for the Jesuits’ missionary activities in eastern China, particularly after foreign powers forced China to open its doors in the mid-19th century. CH09700/1601 May 14, 2010 36 EM-lines (326 word) Shanghai diocese puts Ricci in focus for year Hopes for Ricci’s helper to become a saint too Preparation for Jesuit Matteo Ricci anniversary gathers pace Church forum discusses Father Matteo Ricci´s work in China Beijing Conference Anticipates Commemoration Of Matteo Ricci´s 400th Death Anniversary In 2010
Help UCA News to be independent
Dear reader,
November begins with the Feast of All Saints. That month will mark the beginning of a new UCA News series, Saints of the New Millenium, that will profile some of Asia’s saints, “ordinary” people who try to live faithfully amid the demands of life in our time.
Perhaps the closest they will ever come to fame will be in your reading about them in UCA News. But they are saints for today. Let their example challenge and encourage you to live your own sainthood.
Your contribution will help us present more such features and make a difference in society by being independent and objective.
A small donation of US$5 a month would make a big difference in our quest to achieve our goals.
William J. Grimm
Publisher
UCA News
YOUR DAILY
NEWSLETTER
Thank you. You are now signed up to our Daily Full Bulletin newsletter
 
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia
UCA News Catholic Dioceses in Asia